LegalAI[Space]

Real estate · Planning and development team, developer client

Check planning conditions before a start on site

Norbury Homes wants to start on site in three weeks and the permission carries thirty-one conditions. The run separates the pre-commencement conditions from the rest and pairs each with the document that would discharge it.

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Agents
Research, Contract
First draft
A condition-by-condition schedule comes back from one run, ahead of the contractor's mobilisation date.

The problem

Starting work before a pre-commencement condition is discharged can make the development unlawful, and it is not always obvious which conditions are pre-commencement from the way they are drafted. A condition requiring a scheme to be approved before any works, including demolition, catches a contractor who thinks site clearance is not development.

  1. Step 01 of 05

    Add the permission and the section 106 agreement

    The decision notice, the planning agreement, the approved drawings and the discharge applications submitted so far go on one matter with the mobilisation date as a key date.

    Matters · Project Halcyon · SPA warranties and disclosureOpen

    Project Halcyon: SPA warranties and disclosure

    Buy-side warranty review, disclosure analysis and cited due-diligence grid.

    Client
    Halcyon Bidco Ltd
    Reference
    WC-2026-0412
    Practice area
    Corporate / M&A
    Jurisdiction
    England and Wales
    Responsible partner
    E. Vance
    No conflict check on file.

    Chat, on this matter

    Compare warranties with the disclosure letter.

    Three high-priority exceptions require action: the unregistered charge, the change-of-control right and the tribunal claim.

    Send a message… (@ to mention tools)BalancedPrepare for
    1. 25 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Chat

    2. 21 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Run · completed · 560 credits

    3. 18 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Disclosure Letter

      Document · indexed

    4. 16 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Share Purchase Agreement

      Document · indexed

    5. 4 Aug

      Matter opened

      Opened

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Run the condition schedule

    Prepare for: Work-Stream Memo, Deliver as: spreadsheet. Each condition is classified as pre-commencement, pre-occupation or ongoing, and matched to any application already submitted.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on

  3. Step 03 of 05

    Read the pre-commencement list

    Nine conditions bite before any works. Two have applications pending, one has been discharged, and six have nothing submitted against them at all.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A

  4. Step 04 of 05

    Check the demolition point

    A chat question on whether site clearance counts as commencement for these conditions returns the wording that decides it, quoted from the notice.

    Matters · 14 Rowan Court, Flat 9 · ResearchSources ranked
    Matter: 14 Rowan CourtEngland and WalesResearch Agent
     
    Prepare for: Court-Ready · Deliver as: Word

    Where we looked

    • 1Your documentsLease, demand, correspondence
    • 2Primary law3 statutes, 1 judgment
    • 3Regulators and the recordNothing needed
    • 4Web searchOff for this question

    Authorities · 4

    • 1

      Law of Property Act 1925, s 146

      c 20
      not yet checked
    • 2

      Housing Act 1996, s 81

      c 52
      not yet checked
    • 3

      Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, s 168

      c 15
      not yet checked
    • 4

      Escalus Properties Ltd v Robinson

      [1996] QB 231 (CA)
      not yet checked

  5. Step 05 of 05

    Hand it to the developer

    The spreadsheet goes to the client on a passcode link with a ninety-day expiry, and the action items name who submits each outstanding application.

    Client sharing · Employment Contract Compliance Review

    What travels

    Protection

    Six-digit passcode4 8 2 · 9 1 7
    Expires in
    share.legalaispace.com/s/k7Qm…

    View log · also written to the audit register

    1. Opened

      client@halcyon-bidco.example
      Today 09:14

    2. Downloaded memo.docx

      client@halcyon-bidco.example
      Today 09:15

    3. Failed passcode attempt

      unknown
      Yesterday 17:40

    4. Link created · expires in 7 days

      E. Vance
      Yesterday 16:02

    The reader sees your firm's name, the sections you chose, and nothing else. No sign-in, no account, no way back into the workspace.

What comes back

A document, not a transcript.

  • Every condition classified as pre-commencement, pre-occupation or ongoing, with the wording that decides the classification.
  • The six pre-commencement conditions with nothing submitted against them, listed first.
  • An answer on whether site clearance triggers commencement under this permission.
  • Obligations under the planning agreement set out alongside the conditions, with their own trigger points.

Authorities it checks

  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 70
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 73
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 106
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not submit discharge applications or correspond with the local planning authority.
  • It does not confirm that a discharged condition was validly discharged where the decision notice is not on the matter.
  • It does not advise on whether a condition could be successfully challenged; that is separate advice it names.

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